Winter Preparation - Opportunity out of Adversity

This morning on the radio I was listening to an interview with Professor Alan Watson who has spent forty years studying cosmic rays.  He says ‘These rays are the most energetic particles in nature.’  When asked what they are he says: ‘They are charged particles from outer space and a million of them go through your body every night.  He also says ‘We are biologically adapted to them.’

When asked what had sparked the Professor’s interest in physics he said that as a boy towards the end of the war he contracted Polio and spent a year in bed.  At the time his father was a grocer.  Rationing coupons were still being issued and his father gave him the bacon and cheese coupons to count before he sent them off to the ministry. After a year, his fascination for number was established.

While listening to this I was reminded of my own misfortune when in my early 30’s I fell down the stairs and hurt my back.  I had a slipped disc and after weeks of traction and bed rest I was eventually given physiotherapy and sent home with a list of exercises to perform on a regular basis.  Like most of us I expect, I did the exercises until I felt okay than slipped.  After only a few days, the pain began to return and still does today if I don’t keep on top of my exercise routine.

I had no choice but to build exercise into my daily life and as a consequence I am fitter today than I would have ever been, had I not had the fall.  It not only created the need for regular exercise but also sparked off my interest in self-help and motivation.

Over the years I have adapted my exercise routines and continue to alter them according to the seasons and the weather.  That extra hour of daylight we now have as the earth begins to warm, brings with it that wonderful feeling of change.  The first yellow crocuses open up offering inspiration, those hardy harbingers of spring that have pushed through the frozen earth lift me and remind me that there is so much more to come.

I believe just as we have biologically adapted to Professor Watson’s cosmic rays, we have also biologically adapted to the seasons. As we begin to feel the stirrings of growth in the great outdoors, we also feel our own readiness for fresh air and exercise.

Sometimes we may have to look that bit harder or from a different point of view to gain our opportunity from adversity. But look and you will find, what is unsought will go undetected.

"Out of adversity comes opportunity.” - Ben Franklin (1706–1790)

“Every adversity carries with it the seed of equal or greater benefit.” -- Napoleon Hill

For one to one Skype coaching sessions contact Susan on susan@susanloveday.com or visit www.susanloveday.com for more information.